Courting Success: How Babson Tennis Teams Transformed into National Powerhouses
With a pair of women’s doubles national championships, a first NCAA Elite Eight appearance for the men, and top-tier recruiting classes, the Babson tennis programs have undergone a transformation since Michael Kopelman was hired as coach of both teams in 2018.
Now the director of tennis and head men’s coach, Kopelman oversees two of the best tennis programs in the country.
“When you have confidence in yourself, the school, and the athletics department, you set a goal of what you want to accomplish,” Kopelman says. “Getting to that point and accomplishing it are a little bit different, but I’m appreciative of the support we’ve received. We want to continue to grow and push forward.”
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After a successful playing career at Boston University, Kopelman was an assistant coach at Bentley and Brandeis before coming to Babson as a one-person coaching staff for both the men’s and women’s teams. Alan Dubrovsky joined the men’s program as associate head coach three years ago, and Emma Hall began as the head women’s coach two years ago, when Kopelman became the director of tennis and head men’s coach.
“For our student-athletes, having three full-time coaches is incredible,” Kopelman says. “The coaches both work extremely hard and are passionate about our teams and student-athletes. We continue to recruit at a high level and bring in individuals who can succeed academically and also want to improve as tennis players.”
Top recruits now are taking Babson more seriously. Previously, Kopelman needed to persuade potential recruits that good things could happen, but now the staff can point to an impressive track record. Prospective players want to be a part of the program success while contributing to the Babson tennis legacy.
That legacy took a major leap this past year. Olivia Soffer ’25 and Matia Cristiani ’26 repeated as women’s doubles national champions, and the men’s team defeated MIT for the conference championship for the first time en route to a 22-3 record and its first national quarterfinal appearance in the NCAA tournament.
“The ultimate goal is for us to win a team national championship. … We have the right people in place who are willing to work hard and put the time in to make that happen.”
Michael Kopelman, Babson College director of tennis
In the national rankings, the men rose as high as 10th (a program best) this year, and the women reached ninth two years ago and 14th this year. The women’s recruiting class for this fall was ranked fourth in the country and the men’s eighth.
In addition to noting their on-court success, Kopelman singles out the importance of their players being motivated to do well academically, as evidenced by the teams’ strong GPAs and Brady Anderson ’25 earning either program’s first College Sports Communicators Academic All-America honor this spring.
Despite all the achievements by both programs, there remains one box unchecked.
“The ultimate goal is for us to win a team national championship,” Kopelman says. “The men beat two top-10 teams this year and made it to the final eight, and the women reached the NCAA Sweet 16 two years ago, so we’ve been rapidly improving. We’ve had individual success for the women, and the next big-picture goal is to win a team national title. We have the right people in place who are willing to work hard and put the time in to make that happen.”
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